Article - Cutting Edge Corporate Clothing | Modern Corporate Clothing

28 Feb 2022

From Ancient Animal Pelts to Cutting-Edge Corporate Clothing

 As new fabrics are developed and increasing numbers of South African corporate entities see the sense in having their employees don corporate attire, the umpteen benefits of adopting such garments have become ever more important.

Suppliers to the Corporate Sector

XCO Group, one of this country’s premier manufacturers and suppliers of almost all things corporate, strives to set the benchmark for corporate attire, workwear, sport team gear, protective garments, head and footwear, promotional gifts. We also offer corporate brand expansion and exposure items and solutions with which to market your organisation more effectively and efficiently.

Benefits and Advantages of Corporate Attire

·        Saves employees a heap of money – clothing has become an expensive commodity, so numerous organisations pay for or contribute towards the cost of work- and team wear.

·        Saves time if staff members know what to wear.

·        No more pondering, wondering and increasing frustration when, on any given day of the week, an employee cannot decide what to wear to work, he or she runs late and gets to work late too, all due to having to select clothing from his/her own wardrobe contents.

·        Puts all personnel on an equal footing, when dressed similarly – in corporate attire. All are visibly part of the same team and organisation, where there is no discrimination between ranks.

·        Easily identifiable for customers seeking answers to queries and questions.

·        Promotes corporate brand, image, culture and brand relevance, essential in growing a brand, its services and products in its market sector, en route to a goal and success.

·        Fosters team identity and unity.

·        Represents the brand within the workplace and further afield.

·        Creates a feeling of pride and unity amongst employees.

When Did Humankind Begin to Cover their Bodies?

Clothing has changed enormously. This has been so ever since ancient humans began covering their bodies with pelts and animal furs to protect them from adverse weather conditions, particularly cold temperatures experienced at night and during long winter months spent in exceptionally cold climates.

While there is no direct evidence of the use of rudimentary ancient versions of clothing, studies estimate that this practice began approximately 107 000 – 180 000 years ago. Another scientific opinion has it that covering the body with a naturally acquired material that keeps the body warm is commensurate with the advent of the first or second Ice Age. Both theories reach a seemingly similar and sensible conclusion.

It’s possible that both studies may be correct. Nonetheless, this information is, however, not based on archaeological remains, since organic animal skins degrade and disappear over time. An alternative method of addressing the “when did modern human beings start wearing clothes?” question has been sought and in one study, the study materials were, of all things – lice.

Parasitic Clothing Lice

Those of us who get the willies at the mere mention of a parasite species like lice, which are typically associated with unsanitary and unhygienic conditions, may be surprised that these pests have eventually proved useful to modern humankind by being a factor in our own evolution as a species.

Body or clothing lice evolved as a separate offshoot, stemming from head lice. This type of louse didn’t exist before humankind began wearing clothes, so by studying clothing lice, scientists arrived at the first estimate of when human beings probably first adopted clothing.

A principal researcher’s study uses DNA sequencing to establish when clothing lice were likely to have begun evolving genetically from head lice. As mentioned, this could only have occurred when humans began to clothe their bodies.